With just over a month until pitchers and catchers report, it's about that time of the year where the top remaining free agents start finding homes. Occasionally, that leads to an unexpected pairing between player and team.
If such an arrangement is to manifest this spring, don't be surprised if the oddball team in question is the Philadelphia Phillies. That's because the Phillies are taking an opportunistic approach to the remaining free-agent hitters, per Ken Rosenthal:
The team's wide-ranging list of potential targets includes free-agent outfielder Jose Bautista, who is perhaps the best hitter still available. But the Phils, seeking the lowest possible acquisition cost, consider Bautista a less likely option; they are reluctant to lose a draft pick for signing him, sources say.
Rosenthal also names Michael Saunders and Brandon Moss as potential Philadelphia free-agent targets, while noting the Phillies could well pull off another peanuts-for-veteran trade -- much as they did for Howie Kendrick and Clay Buchholz earlier in the offseason.
The Phillies, of course, are still more concerned about the future than the present. But you can understand their mindset -- adding some short-term veteran help makes their product more enjoyable, and could pay dividends at the trade deadline. This is the kind of thinking other rebuilding teams would be wise to embrace.
